Insomnia builds character.

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When I cant sleep,
there's a voice in my ear.
There's a buzz and a laugh,
there's always more quiet.

Silence to me breeds paranoia.
A festering wound in my mentality,
a lifetime of quiet moments
left me to wonder.

When I cant sleep,
my body wanders, my mind leaving
it to it's own devices.
I see with eyes that dont care.

Songs as mobile as me,
give me three minute quips
of a jumbled peace.
Words of no importance
every phrase mine to keep.

When I cant sleep,
I think of one's I love
or at least like enough to remember.
If they're sleeping
or walking on pins like me.

I'm left to wonder
what it is I am looking for
in someone I cant see live
but swear can hear breathing
every night.

When I cant sleep,
I think of those
who are just like me
who dont know a night's rest
I wonder if we could last eternity
awake together.

Mistaking perfection for a parallel
when two identical sets of fangs meet
all they do is gnash.

When I cant sleep,
I stare at the ceiling.
I try to will it into space.

When I cant sleep,
which is every night,
I think of sleep only when
that voice comes to my ear.

Sleep,
it says,
sleep while you still can.
And I do.
Till I have to wake up
and do it all again.
Last edited by Eraqio on Wed Mar 24, 2010 5:03 am, edited 2 times in total.
A story's not a story till you've made it up you see.
Look Mexico.




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Hey Eraqio, brilliant poem you have here (I especially like it because it's almost as if it were written for me, I experience a lot of the same stuff!). The strong beat and almost eerie imagery makes me think of a dark, almost psychotic Keats. There seems to be a crescendo and climax every two or so verses and it's curbed by the repetition of the line 'When I can't sleep'. More importantly though it's written with a steadiness and confidence I find in very few poets today. Keep it up and I hope to be reading more of your verse soon
I saw pale kings, and princes too,
Pale warriors, death pale were they all;
They cry'd - 'La belle Dame sans merci
Hath thee in thrall!'
-John Keats




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Razzleberry! *slobbers*

I shall review this now :D Let us begin -

Nit picks:

First things first, when you start your poem off with a typo, it makes a reader flinch.
It should be "can't" (throughout the entire poem). Please check for typos or spelling errors eh?

but hear breathe every night.


Should be "breath" or you need pronoun before to keep it "breathe". Actually the whole line before that is a bit of a mess. I suggest you revise it a little.

when two identical sets of fangs meet
all they do is gnash.


Gnash is so awkward sounding, though it is a lovely word and I like to see people use their vocabulary, it seems thrown in as if it would add anything to the poem. Really, the reader stumbles over it because, a) It's an unfamiliar word for most b) the pronunciation of the 'gn' sound is strange and not used often.

General:

This poem suffers from one major thing. An inability to keep a direct train of thought.
You are describing what happens while an insomniac is trying to fall asleep at first, which, I can personally tell you is a miserable state of being. So:

When I cant sleep,
theres a voice in my ear.
There's a buzz and a laugh,
there's always more quiet.


But then, where does this broken heart, oh I miss this person come into play? And the cliches? This is new, but where's the build up? I personally don't see it. There are little implications of a romance at the beginning but really this:

I hate cliches,
but damn I miss that voice,
the same way they used to miss mine.


really comes out of the blue. Links are key in any poem. You can surprise a reader, but you can't pull things out of a hat. If you get what I'm saying. There has to be some sort of buildup to the climax, or the main point of the poem.

Think of it as a play, with the introduction, rising action, climax, (possible falling action) and a closing.

It doesn't have to be the case for all poems, but for one like this, I think it would suit it best.

Keep writing,

Kamas
"Nothing is permanent in this wicked world - not even our troubles." ~ Charles Chaplin

#tnt



If you run now, you will be running the rest of your life.
— Reborn